Page 72 of The Princess, the Prick & the Priest (Confessions 4)

“No, it certainly won’t be,” Priest said, and winked. “In fact, I think it’s going to be pretty damn spectacular. With you two in it, how could it be anything but?”

“Espèce de flatteur, va.”

“That’s a step up from goofy,” Priest said. “I’ll take it.”

“Mhmm. A big step,” Julien said, and then noticed that the rain had stopped. “Look. The crisis has been averted.”

“For now,” Priest said, and Julien shoved at his arm.

“Don’t jinx us.”

“You’re right. We have enough to get through before tomorrow. The rain doesn’t need to add to it.”

Priest wasn’t wrong. They had dinner with Robbie and his sisters tonight, then he was finally going to meet Robbie’s nonna, Cheryl Bianchi.

“I think we’ll be just fine, mon amour. I have a good feeling about this, but we better get home soon. If Robbie’s sisters are anything like him, I really don’t want to deal with four hangry Bianchis.”

Priest chuckled, but didn’t argue. Instead, he pressed his foot a little harder on the gas and got them back to the lake house in record time.

AFTER DINNER WITH his sisters wrapped up, Robbie led Penny into the living room along with Julien and Priest, while Val and Felicity took care of the dishes. It was closing in on eight o’clock, and their parents were due to arrive any minute now.

His nonna had spent the week at his ma and pa’s house, and they’d been waiting for his father to get home before heading to the lake house. Tomorrow was all set to be a full-on Bianchi affair—God help them all—but Robbie wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

As he and Priest helped lower Penny down into the seat, Julien handed her a couple of cushions.

“I feel like a shipping container with you two helping me up, moving me along to the next spot, and then lowering me down.” She shook her head. “I’m probably as heavy as one, too.”

As she settled into the seat, Priest straightened and said, “Not at all,” at the same time Robbie said, “I’d say you’re at least a few tons shy of a shipping container.”

Priest’s eyes widened, and he looked truly worried, as though he might have to step in and save Robbie from a pregnant woman. But when Penny started to laugh uproariously, he visibly relaxed.

“You’re lucky I can’t get up right now,” Penny said when she calmed. “Or I’d kick your scrawny ass for that.”

“Excuse me,” Robbie said, and turned his head to look at the ass in question. “It’s not scrawny.” Then he looked to where Priest had just sat with Julien and decided to tease them a little. “You two don’t think I have a scrawny ass, do you? I’m positive I’ve never heard either of you describe it that way…”

Julien snorted, and Priest’s eyebrow winged up, and just as they looked about to answer, the front door opened and they all turned toward the hallway. Robbie walked in the direction he knew his parents would be coming down, but before he disappeared around the corner, he threw a wink over his shoulder at his men and said, “I’ll leave you to discuss that with Penny. I’ll be right back.”

Robbie headed down the hall, where he saw his nonna handing her coat to his father, and when she turned around to see him, Robbie noticed she was a little frailer than she had been the last time he’d visited, but that didn’t stop the smile that lit her face.

“Robert, come and give your nonna a hug,” she said, holding her arms out, and Robbie wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

“How are you doing, vecchietta?”

“Psh. Who are you calling old? I’m doing quite well, thank you very much,” she said, reaching for her new walking cane, as Robbie straightened and let her go. “And from what I’m hearing, so are you?”

Robbie looked over his nonna’s head to his ma, and when she nodded and offered a reassuring smile, he knew that his unusual situation had already been explained—somehow.

God bless his ma.

“I am…yes,” Robbie said, and held his arm out. As Nonna slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow, Robbie led her toward the living room.

“If you come with me, I’d like to introduce you to—” Robbie drew up short on the word fiancés, suddenly feeling a little unsure of himself. It was one thing for her to know about them, but to actually say it out loud to his seventy-six-year-old nonna? Well, that was something else entirely.

She apparently did not feel the same way. “Your handsome men, I hope?”

Robbie’s eyes widened, and when she grinned at him, she said, “I might be old, Robert, but I haven’t lost my memory. It’s that lovely fellow from the TV who cooks, am I right? And the handsome lawyer who helped Vanessa? They used to pick you up in the same car.”

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